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Cryptocurrency prices took a dip on Thursday night following President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order aimed at establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve for the United States, along with a separate directive for a “digital asset stockpile.”
The value of bitcoin fell by 3%, trading at $87,586.86—as per Coin Metrics—after plummeting to a low of $84,688.13 shortly after the news broke.
Losses in other cryptocurrencies—particularly those that had surged earlier in the week after Trump indicated they would be part of the new strategy—also saw some alleviation. Ether dropped by 2%, trading at $2,184.08. Meanwhile, XRP and Solana’s SOL tokens saw declines of 1% and 3%, respectively. Cardano’s ADA token experienced a notable tumble of 13%.
Bitcoin (BTC)
In a post shared on X, White House cryptocurrency and AI advisor David Sacks explained that the bitcoin reserve will consist of bitcoin already held by the U.S. government from various law enforcement actions—stating that this will “not cost taxpayers anything.” The U.S. government is currently in possession of over 198,000 bitcoins valued at approximately $17 billion, as reported by Arkham.
The additional stockpile will comprise “digital assets other than bitcoin that are forfeited through criminal or civil proceedings.” Sacks clarified that the government will not seek to acquire any extra assets, only those gained through forfeiture processes. Arkham’s data indicates that the U.S. government owns around 56 ether tokens, worth nearly $119 million, while it does not list XRP or tokens from Solana or Cardano.
Investors reacted by selling their coins upon hearing that the U.S. government has no immediate intentions to purchase bitcoin as part of the new order, against a backdrop of ongoing weakness in equity markets.
“This is positive news, but not what the market was looking for in the short term,” said Steven Lubka, head of private clients and family offices at Swan Bitcoin. “There’s a sentiment that folks were expecting immediate buying pressure.”
However, Sacks did mention that the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce have been empowered to create “budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, as long as these approaches do not burden American taxpayers,” and that there are no plans to amass extra assets for the crypto stockpile beyond what the government already possesses.
This announcement came shortly after Trump teased prospective details about the long-awaited bitcoin reserve—one of his significant commitments to the cryptocurrency community during his campaign—and just before the inaugural White House Crypto Summit.
This week, the crypto market faced turbulence due to tariff disputes and inflation worries, which have largely eclipsed the speculative excitement surrounding the bitcoin reserve. Earlier in the week, JPMorgan expressed skepticism about a substantial upward shift in crypto prices in the upcoming term, citing broader economic uncertainties and declining demand.
Bitcoin briefly reached the critical $90,000 threshold earlier this week but has since retreated just below it. Investors and analysts have cautioned that unless bitcoin can effectively maintain a position above this level, it is vulnerable to a more significant downturn toward the $70,000 mark.
